Monday, May 28, 2012

Scis, Deus e nihilo...

This little poem comes from Disticha de Educatione of Urbano Appendini, published in 1834; you can see the whole book at Google Books.

Scis, Deus e nihilo quonam te fine creavit?
Scilicet aeternis ut fruerere bonis.

quīnam, quaenma, quodnam: who, which, what? (interrogative)

aeternus -a -um: everlasting, eternal
bonus -a -um: good
creo -āre: produce, create; elect, choose
deus -ī m.; dea -ae f. god; goddess
ex, ē: out of, from (+ abl.)
fīnis -is m.: end, boundary
fruor fruī frūctus sum: enjoy
scilicet: certainly, of course
scio -īre -īvī/-iī -ītum: know
tū tuī tibi tē: you (sing.)
ut, uti: as (+ indic.); so that, with the result that (+ subj.)